Hellenismos, otherwise known as Greek Reconstructionist Paganism, is the traditional, polytheistic religion of ancient Hellas, reconstructed in, and adapted to, the modern world. It's a vibrant religion which can draw on a surprising amount of ancient sources. Baring the Aegis blogger Elani Temperance blogs about her experiences within this Tradition. For contact, please use the gmail address 'baring.the.aegis'.

Greece or Hellas?

A question I get quite a lot is the question why I use 'Hellas' and not 'Greece' to describe the country of origin of my Gods. Even today the country is known abroad as Greece, while the Greeks call themselves 'Ellines' and their country Ellada or Hellas in English. The official name of the country is Hellenic Republic as it is written on Greek passports, however the ethnicity on the same documents is described as 'Greek'.

Greek Reporter interviewed Katerina Zacharia, a professor of Classics and Archaeology at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA to find out how the term Greece came to be the country’s international name as well as the semantics of the different names of the country throughout its long history. Watch the videos below:

Dr. Zacharia is a renowned speaker on the subject of Hellenism as well as the editor and major contributor for the book “Hellenisms: Culture, Identity and Ethnicity from Antiquity to Modernity (Ashgate Variorum 2008).” She is also the author of “Converging Truths: Euripides’ Ion and the Athenian Quest for Self-Definition (Brill 2003)” is a Professor of Classics at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles. She holds a B.A. degree in Psychology and Philosophy and minor in Pedagogy, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Classics from University College London.

For clarity: I use 'Hellas' or 'ancient Hellas' to indicate ancient Greece and everything connected to it, and 'Greece' or 'Modern Greece' for anything concerning the present. That said, 'Hellas' is the preferred term for both, and I know that. It's simply clearer to use the terms like this on this blog because it differentiates so beautifully.